Heavy lake effect snow fell in about a 15 hour period across parts of northwest Wisconsin on December 3rd. Six to 10 inches of snowfall were the rule across Bayfield and Iron counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS DLH wrote it up.
Heavy lake effect snow fell in about a 15 hour period across parts of northwest Wisconsin on December 3rd. Six to 10 inches of snowfall were the rule across Bayfield and Iron counties. Cornucopia had 8 to 10 inches of snow while 8 inches fell in Bayfield.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 2, 11:50 PM CST, 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
1150 PM CST SAT DEC 2 2006
.UPDATE...DID ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE TO MAKE A FEW TIMING TWEEKS
BASED ON CURENT RADAR TRENDS AND LATEST SHORT TERM MODEL GUIDANCE.
FORCING FOR UVM IS COLLAPSING ACROSS THE MN ARROWHEAD..AND LIGHT
SNOW WILL DIMINISH TO FLURRIES OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. ONLY
LIGHT ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED..AND THEREFORE HAVE
ALLOWED THE MN HIGHLIGHTS TO EXPIRE FOR THE ARROWHEAD AND NRN MN.
MEANWHILE..THINGS SHUD GET CRANKING WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
HOURS ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE. AS UPPER WAVE CONTS TO TRANSLATE
EAST..SFC TROF/COLD FRONT WILL CONT TO SURGE SWD ACROSS LK
SUPERIOR. WINDS OVER THE APOSTLE ISLANDS ARE NOW TURNING TO THE
NORTH..AS MASS CONVERGENCE AXIS SINKS SWD. KDLH RADAR INDICATES
ECHOES FILLING IN OVER THE LAKE..AND THESE HEAVY SHOW SHOWERS SHUD
SPREAD ACROSS THE SOUTH SHORE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. LK
INDUCED CAPES 500-700 J/KG PER 00Z NAM RUN BUFR SOUNDINGS STILL
SUPPORT AT LEAST A MENTION OF A TSTORM OR TWO WITH MOST INTENSE
SQUALLS LATER TONIGHT. UPDATES ALREADY AVAILABLE.
MILLER
&&
.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...NONE.
WI...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST SUNDAY FOR ASHLAND-IRON.
LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 12 PM CST SUNDAY FOR DOUGLAS.
LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CST SUNDAY FOR BAYFIELD.
LS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM CST SUNDAY FOR LSZ121-LSZ145-
LSZ146-LSZ147-LSZ148.HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 853 PM CST SAT DEC 2 2006 LSZ121-140>148-162-MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004- 006>009-031230- BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN- GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN- TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN- SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN- DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI- SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI- OPEN WATERS OF LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO GRAND PORTAGE MN-KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS- NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS- SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE-SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS- SOUTHERN ITASCA-SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN- SOUTHERN AITKIN-CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD- ASHLAND-IRON-BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE- 853 PM CST SAT DEC 2 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA... NORTHWEST WISCONSIN AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW WILL TAPER TO FLURRIES BY SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHERN MINNESOTA AND THE MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS GENERALLY FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED OVER THE MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD...BRINGING STORM TOTALS INTO THE 6 TO 12 INCH RANGE. HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR BETWEEN 10 PM AND 2 AM TONIGHT...AND CONTINUE WELL INTO SUNDAY. ISOLATED LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE MOST INTENSE SNOW SHOWERS...AND SNOWFALL RATES FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR WILL BE COMMON WITH THE MOST INTENSE LAKE EFFECT BANDS. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED FROM BIRCH HILL IN ASHLAND COUNTY...EAST ACROSS THE GOGEBIC RANGE IN IRON COUNTY. VERY HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ALONG HIGHWAY 2 BETWEEN SUPERIOR AND IRONWOOD AFTER MIDNIGHT. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTH SHORE FROM DULUTH TO PORT WING TO SAXON HARBOR THROUGH TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY MORNING ACROSS THE BAYFIELD PENINSULA... AND MUCH OF ASHLAND AND IRON COUNTIES. HOWEVER... THE LAKE EFFECT SNOWS SHOULD DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE MIDDAY AND AFTERNOON HOURS. STORM TOTAL 8 TO 12 INCH ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE COMMON...ESPECIALLY OVER THE BAYFIELD PENINSULA AND THE GOGEBIC RANGE...WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 20 INCHES POSSIBLE IN SOME FAVORED LOCATIONS OF THE GOGEBIC RANGE. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTH SHORE FROM DULUTH TO PORT WING TO SAXON HARBOR THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. A COUPLE OF WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS WILL AFFECT THE NORTHLAND SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...AND AGAIN ON TUESDAY NIGHT. THESE WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR A COUPLE INCHES OF SNOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT...BUT SNOWFALL SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO CALL IN ALL SNOWFALL REPORTS. MILLER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Northwest winds brought heavy lake effect snow to much of northern Bayfield County, where 6.5 inches fell in Bayfield, and 8 inches fell in Cornucopia.
Northwest winds brought heavy lake effect snow to much of northern Iron County, across the Gogebic Range. Six to 10 inches fell from Upson to Gile and Montreal.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, December 2006
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 8087, 8088.